Christopher Lee at his best. Even if it don’t like to play Dracula he was good at it, like Lugosi.. I like old horror movie they were the best.. Thank Cinemassacre to let me see bits of these old and good horror movies..

My thoughts exactly… he “finds his faith” at the end, like that’s the perfect, desireable, happy ending. Definitely seems like “Oh, it has religious values, it’s good for kids even if it’s violent but being religious means you’re a good person” etc type propaganda bullshit.

The thing about “B” films, is that people hear that term, and think that it means they’re crap, poorly made, poorly acted, what have you. That isn’t, nor was ever totally true. Sure, there are “B” films, that DO have horrible acting. But there are also “A” blockbusters that do as well. Look at the Transformers films. The thing is, there is no such thing as “B” pictures anymore. The term was used originally because they would have double bills at the theater, often with a “B” film paired up with a more premier film.

But really, you look at a lot of what was, or is, considered “B” movies back then, you have some of the greatest films ever made, even compared to the more “respectable” dramas and whatnot. Films like “Forbidden Planet”, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, “This Island Earth”, “The Incredible Shrinking Man”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, etc., were and are really excellent, all around, from the production, to the themes, the writing, the acting, you name it. Even something like the original Godzilla, not only was it really ahead of it’s time in 1954, but it was also, at it’s core, a serious human drama along with being a dark and scary monster flick.

But yeah, I digress. My feeling on the Hammer films is conflicted. On the one hand, Terrance Fisher was, hands down, one of the best horror directors in history. His films usually had class, and a great style to them. Even the lesser known ones, like “Night of the Big Heat” and “The Earth Dies Screaming”. I guess, for me, the original remakes Hammer did, of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Mummy, were top-notch, excellent films. I just feel that many of the sequels to said films, kind of lost it with time. Ultimately though, I feel like Hammer and Toho had a lot in common, insofar as the 50s and especially 60s were their prime years, but both companies went downhill and their output suffered in the 70s. Hammer, especially, became a victim of the changing tides in the horror industry, as far as excessive gore and smuttier content becoming the norm for most horror films in the 70s and onward. And that’s too bad, because I think most of the 50s and 60s Hammer films had a lot of class, for what most people would usually assume when they think of the word “horror film”.

Haven’t seen this one. Have only seen Horror of and Brides of, but will finish the series out as soon as I get a chance It’s cool the character is an Atheist, but lame that he has to find his faith in order to kill Dracula.

On the whole prayer thing, even if Paul was a christian, wouldn’t it make more since for the Priest to pray over Dracula. Since you know he’s a priest and expelling demons is kind of part of his job. Also if faith in Christianity is required to defeat Dracula why doesn’t he just move to a country were Christianity is less common. Hell Romania isn’t that far from the Middle east. In fact there had to have been a turkish remake of Dracula at some point, though I don’t think they addressed the issue.

I’m not religious in any shape or form, but I do like religion in horror movies. I like the theme, the fairytale badass church that fights evil. It’s the same with violence, obviously I don’t condone it in real life, but when it comes to movies it’s the more the merrier.

As for this particular movie, I like that stakes and crosses have no effect if the user himself isn’t a believer. In my opinion it’d be stupid if any atheist could shove a cross in Dracula’s face and have him flee in terror.

Today is the first day for me typing “cine” into google did NOT bring up cinemassacre as one of the top 5 choices, making me type a couple extra letters. Now that’s what I call bullshit! I need my Monster Madness fix when I awaken from the crypt.

You’re rather misrepresenting atheists. Most would not say that atheism is the strong belief that god does not exist, that it’s rather the lack of belief that any gods exist. It’s not a position of faith, rather a position recognizing the complete lack of evidence for any gods and consequently lacking belief in them.

Additionally no one believes that science has ALL the answers. The scientific method is the best method to acquire knowledge and create accurate models, but that doesn’t mean that everything is known, and probably never will be.

Excellent review James, you’re the reason I have suddenly gotten an interest in horror movies, and all these monster madness videos are doing a splendid job of satisfying that interest!

Shame about all the religious comments on your video though. As soon as i saw the atheist character became a Christian, I just knew there would be some raging atheists in the comments. Mainly The_Octopus.

Seriously Octopus? I love how you are implying you are intellectually superior because you’re not a Christian. “Realist”? There are Christian realists too you know. What would it matter to you if James was a Christian? I’m a Christian, but I would still enjoy Jame’s videos even if he was an atheist. Would you enjoy his videos less, or respect his opinions less, if he WAS a Christian? Because it sounds like you would, and that would make you silly.

Anyways, sorry for having to add to the religious tension here, but I just had to get it off my chest.

I was too busy watching the excellent review to care about trivial matters.

for the record though I do not believe in god but who am I to say he exsists or not? if he does then great if not then well whatever… I personally don’t care too much. people should just relax and respect other people already. we aren’t in the middle ages anymore.

Great review, as always. I’m enjoying the ability James is getting this year to talk more in-depth about these movies, best Monster Madness yet if you ask me.

My adivce to everyone that somehow became more concerned with theology instead of the review itself is to just say James Rolfe’s classic saying he uses during the holiday season. “Happy Shut the Fuck Up!”

The_Octopus. I suppose you’re favorite Jones is Cristal skull because it has nothing to do with religion then. and i guess you hate most vampire film because most of those are religious. like come on James always give good reason why he loves the movie and if he is religious or supports it you have to respect that. you don’t have to like it, but you have respect it.

I think you’re thinking about this WAY to hard. We ALL know the main religion that surrounds the Dracula lore focuses on Christianity, holy water; crosses; the blood and the body. I know you’re upset that the Atheist has to “convert” to kill good ole’ Drac, but what if he was praying just to finish him off. I mean, I don’t think you have to BE Christian, you just have to pray, even if you don’t mean it.

Another question, is it ALL about the Atheism, or would you still be offended if Paul(the Atheist) was Jewish? They don’t believe in any of that Old Testament stuff.

By the way, Christopher Lee will forever be one of the greatest actors of all time. Dialogue is dialogue, anyone can write something deep and profound. The expression, the conviction, you need to make people full on believe that you are this character.

Taste the Blood of Dracula should be next. That is the only Dracula dvd (besides Noferatu) I own I never got around to watching it yet because I wanted to wait til I eventually picked them all up and I was happy to see your doing the Hammer Dracula’s so I will see a preview of Taste the Blood I also got it along with Curse of Frankenstien.

@BuckyFlyer Happens to me too usally when the video is posted it happens but I just come back at a later time and watch it and it seems to work so maybe try resetting your computer or come back later to watch it.

I dont know, I dont believe there are sentient living forces (gods) guiding the universe on a daily basis. I like to think nature is just going with the flow and sometimes wondrous things happen. I consider myself to be spiritual but people seem to think I cant be unless I believe in a god somewhere shaping the world around me. I feel that those who have to believe in a mind or person guiding them, or watching out for them are somewhat co-dependent. I dont hate them for it or try to change them, we are all who we are. =3

You know, the second he said this movie is rated ‘G’, I sprang to my DvD case to check it out, and yups, G it is. Even more derranged; Dracula A.D. 1972 is PG, you’ll see why that’s oddy when he gets around to reviewing that one.

Nice review! Its pretty strange to see an atheist as a main character in a movie like this, one shown to be just a regular guy who happens not to believe in supernatural stuff. He is shown as just being a skeptic kind of guy, which is very fair. It makes for an interesting twist in a plot like this, and it does make sense the atheist would become christian by the end, after seeing clear supernatural phenomena related to religion.

In the context of these movies, Christianity is clearly the true, righteous religion. That is just something you have to accept when the movie starts, its part of the movie’s context just like its time period etc. As an atheist, I don’t find this offensive at all, just like no one really finds offensive movies or stories wherein Greek mythology and other old faiths become true for the span of the story. Its called suspension of disbelief, and its an integral part of the escapist movie experience. Movies like this where faith-based belief systems are given tangible power however do raise questions about whether or not religion in this context still remains based in faith: Faith is defined as being a belief held in spite of lack of evidence. Dracula being killed or repelled through prayer and christian symbols definitively counts as evidence within the movie.
Can characters who witness such things still be said to have faith at all? Would Christianity even still be considered a religion? Wouldn’t it somehow merge with science as being part of the laws which describe how our world functions, the world’s natural forces? How different would such a world be from ours? Heh, that could be a movie in itself…

If I may, I think that all James was saying here was that he thought it was an interesting story concept, to have the person who going to slay Dracula be an atheist rather than a man of God like Van Helsing. It adds to the story. Nowhere was he implying what his own personal religious views were. All of the Dracula movies have religious themes in them, because that is how Dracula is killed. You don’t actually have to be religious to enjoy them.

G-rated? I always knew that the rating system makes no sense – especially here in Germany, were “16 and up”-movies can sometimes be MORE violent than “18 and up”-movies Oo

Speaking of Germany: It really pisses me off that these older horror movies are NEVER shown on German television. Seriously, I can’t remember EVER seeing a Hammer Dracula movie on television. Wouldn’t be so bad if the newer horror movies weren’t shitty and censored so much you can barely see what the hell’s going on.
Still, one of the more artsy channels showed the fully restored Nosferatu a while ago. Awesome movie XD !

Come on guys, don’t you have something better too do than discussing religion in the comments? I myself am an atheist (don’t believe in the existence of a god) and I’m not bothered by the message in this movie.
So relax and just enjoy the video, dammit!

lol james man i hate to say it but you kinda painted a target for debate on this one by focusing on the religious aspect of the film. I think a good handful of us understand what you were trying to say in the review and the film simply is what it is. Even if there isn’t a clear opinion being expressed in your review, or the film for that matter, it’s always a heated topic for debate and there will never be any kind of resolution. Atheism will never destroy Christianity, and Christianity will never convert all Atheists. I just wish people were more respectful when expressing their personal beliefs. As for the review itself, i took no offense and i don’t see why others should.

Call me a crazy but I am willing to bet that the decision to rate this movie G was a religious one. I am not trying to get into an atheist vs christian debate here but to my understanding ratings systems and censorship usually comes from religious beliefs or at least groups of religious people pushing for it, not to say some aren’t just uptight people of any faith or lack thereof. So it would make sense to me that a movie with some violence but an overall pro-christian worldview would be something that might get a g rating from a group of mostly christians on the ratings board. It’s less violent than the bible.

I find this movie a little stupid to be honest. Why would an atheist refuse to pray? I mean, he’s fighting against a crazy dude that drinks blood and survives being stabbed in the heart, and when the priest tells him to pray, he still refuses; Isn’t that nonsense? That’s like saying “I don’t believe in aliens” while being right next to a small green guy with big eyes.

And it’s not just that but the way he refuses to pray. He doesn’t just refuse, he says “can’t” pray. As if atheists don’t have the ability to pray or something. That’s stupid. They CAN do it they just don’t WANT to. He should have said “I DON’T WANT TO PRAY”. And believe me, if you were an atheist facing the situation he was in, I think you’d at least give it a try, even if you don’t want to believe in a god.

Apart from that, I don’t know what the message of the movie really is. So an atheist that doesn’t believe in God becomes a believer because he has to fight Dracula? Ok, but in real life there’s no Dracula so I think it’s legitimate to not believe in God too.
I mean, I hope this movie did not expect the viewer to become a christian or something.

Agree completely with you on the last part. An atheist should be able to watch this movie, and still enjoy the religious aspects without being offended. If I’m watching Clash of the Titans, I’m not accusing the creators of pushing the “Ancient Greek Mythos”-agenda.

I don’t think James painted a target for debate. Anything slightly religious sparks debate now days, especially when there’s the protection of a computer screen between people. I personally don’t see why people argue about it, It’s pointless. I believe what I believe and you believe what you believe and we’ll leave it at that.

Please stop asking to not talk about religion when this movie is clearly all about it! What should we be talking about then?
A real movie fan will say “the actors, the effects etc” but come on the plot is not to be neglected too.
That’s like not being able to talk about the holy grail after watching Indiana Jones. Obviously the creators of this movie wanted people to think and maybe talk about religion, and that’s just what’s happening. ^_^

In regards to the G rating – a brief history of the MPAA ratings system.

– Started in November 1968, and according to filmratings.com (the official MPAA website) this film was indeed rated in 1968.

– The original ratings were: G, M, R, X. And they took the “General Audience” moniker in stride. Many films with material we would think as PG-13 or R today got the G rating because it wasn’t a rating intended to babysit. It was intended to say “your average viewer will not find anything that offensive.” Some G rated films from this era: 2001: A Space Odyssey (has violence with the aoe-men, dark themes, and a murdering supercomputer), Paper Lion (has 2 instances of “fuckin’-a” under football players’ breath along with other cussing), Planet of the Apes (nudity (Heston), lobotomy scars, getting shot in the throat), and so on.

– M rating became GP (then shortly afterwards PG) in a couple years since audiences were confused as to which was the stringer rating between M and R.

– Disney started releasing a ton of shovelware kiddie fare (Love Bug and sequels, Computer Wore Tennis Shoes) in mid-70s, so that by the end of the decade G rated films intended for adults became obsolete (Star Wars had the shot of the dismembered arm in the Cantina inserted in order to avoid getting a G rating).

– You can see the same thing nowadays with PG. With the advent of PG-13, PG has become as obsolete as G, with films like Up and Napoleon Dynamite being given PG ratings because of “thematic elements” (Up – aka “you may cry a little”) and “Language” (Napoleon Dynamite. Seriously – it’s rated PG for LANGUAGE. You know, such dangerous words as “idiot” and “hecka”.)

– In any case, many films from the late 60s / early 70s have been resubmitted to get new ratings because of this since modern sensibilities have changed their meaning, but many are not. Warner especially doesn’t bother unless they want to have an X changed to R or NC-17.

Just thought this would be interesting for you to know. Keep up the great work – putting all thee videos together has got to take time and they’re great!

ahh, the MPAA, what fine lulz you give us. JAWS and Temple of Doom are PG, Planet of the Apes and this Dracula flick are G. good times. when i was in elementary school, the rule was no movie above a G rating would be shown in class. oh the potential.

An interesting fact is the reason why a vampire cast no reflection, or at least why that started. The belief was that mirrors reflected souls, and since vampires had no souls, they would not appear. This is one reason this myth is largely unused in more modern vampire works, as it portrays the vampires as having souls and not just unholy soulless beings.

This is one of my favourite Hammer Dracula films, but it has one detail I really dislike. Making Paul an atheist was brilliant, and it’s fantastic how that was the centrepiece of the conflict. However, Paul blessing himself at the end was a complete let down. I would far more prefer Paul standing by his convictions instead of falling for that religious tripe.

I am offended by them portraying an atheist suddenly becoming a Christian. Any atheist is open to evidence but it is unheard of for someone to be swayed into conversion, unless they were on the fence in the first place (and thus wouldn’t declare “I’m an atheist! :D”.

I have nothing against religious symbols being a weapon against Dracula or anything, but it seems an unnecessary slap in the face of us who are not Christian that he had to find faith in that religion to be triumphant.

I am offended by them portraying an atheist suddenly becoming a Christian. Any atheist is open to evidence but it is unheard of for someone to be swayed into conversion, unless they were on the fence in the first place – and thus wouldn’t declare “I’m an atheist! :D”.

I have nothing against religious symbols being a weapon against Dracula or anything, but it seems an unnecessary slap in the face of us who are not Christian that he had to find faith in that religion to be triumphant. I’d think that any force for good – Christian, atheist, pagan, or otherwise – should hold the same power against him, as long as the person was strong-willed and good-intentioned.

Being an athiest myself, and seeing the ending to this movie, I do tend to find it insulting. I understand that this is a gothic horror film and vampires are fictional, but just because the film is fictional, doesn’t mean that the situations and characters have to be completely fictional. It’s like (and I hate for bringing this up) Twilight vampires sparkle. Stephanie Meyer says that the reason they sparkle is because it’s fantasy and she just can. Just because you can doesn’t mean you can get away with it without some explaination. same goes for Paul suddenly converting to Christianity. do some Athiests covert to Christianity and vice versa? Of course, but that happens over a long period of time. they don’t flip their minds from one side to the other in a second. that’s just crazy.I agree with Yushatak that I’m not necessarily against crosses or holy water being used in “classic” vampire films and that any force of good really could defeat Dracula as long as they are strong willed and good intentioned.

I just personally think that if Paul initially believed in God, then had some sort of event happen where he began to questioni God’s existence, and through killing Dracula, it restores his faith in God, that would’ve been a much stronger story. I presonally think the story is much weaker establishing that he’s an athiest and making him instantly convert to Christianity. It’s possible that that happens in some cases, but I can assume that that’s very rare.and btw, I’m not trying to get a fight with you if that’s what you’re assuming.

mblood93

January 11, 2012 at 12:21 pm

And I really dislike how they change the mythos of killing a vampire. in tradtional folklore to my knowledge, a stake through the heart does the trick. but now they pull that “you must pray” schtick out of their ass for some reason? you never heard Edward Van Sloan saying a prayer after he killed Bela Lugosi in Dracula, and you never heard Peter Cushing reciting a prayer as he was holding the cross to push Christopher Lee in the sunlight in Horror of Dracula. Now, if you did have to pray to stake/just kill a vampire in general according to traditional folklore, then I’d accept that. But don’t pull this “you must pray” bullshit out of nowhere to get some sort of message across to non-Christians. That just being a jackass.

On another note, love Veronica Carlson in this. Such a beautiful, gorgeous woman!

I wouldn’t be surprised if the MPAA gave this a “G” rating because the Atheist became a Christian.

@mblood93 I agree completely with you, having Paul start out as an Atheist and then become a Christian was pretty offensive and the thrown in “you must pray” element with the Atheist character was almost certainly just meant to slap non-Christians in the face. Your point about having the character be someone with a shaken but pre-existing faith would have been far more effective and far less offensive is spot on.